24Hrs of Le Mans

As the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans draws near, I'm proud to announce the return of the 3rd annual Le Mans party! Once again sportscar fans turn their eyes toward the French countryside to see if German Audi turbo diesel can overcome a relentlessly fast and determined French Pescarola Judd, while team Aston Martin looks for revenge against an almost unstoppable Corvette. 40+ cars will take the starting flag on Saturday, but less than half will see the checkered flag a full 24 hours later. Teams will face fierce competition, the elements and the dark of night. In the end strength means nothing without perseverance and downright luck. This is endurance racing at it's finest.

If that doesn't pique your interest then let me just say that not only is this one of the most unique motor sport events in the world, it's also one of the few that requires outright endurance from the fans. At 11am EST on Saturday the command will be given and the 2006 24 Hours of Le Mans will begin. In the US, Speed TV will air nearly 20 hours of the race while Radio Le Mans covers the entire event from start to finish with additional hours on both sides of the event. You may wonder why folks want to stay up for the entire race, but the answer is simple: because in spite of recaps and replays, there is no way to describe everything that happens during the event. In the case of the 2004 race, during the night a huge fire broke out on one of the Ferrari's front brake calipers. The TV commentators spent nearly 45 minutes relaying, replay, and analyzing the event. But the next morning during the "overnight recap" it wasn't even mentioned. Call me crazy, but there's something cool about seeing something firsthand that no one else gets to see.

But if massive failures, spectacular crashes and the like aren't enough to keep you up all night don't worry, we've got something to keep you occupied. Once again the "Ultimate Racing Machine" will be on hand so that all attendees can try their hand at navigating the sprawling "Circuit de la Sarthe". This year everyone is in for a special treat since I've not only upgraded the computer system, but I've also acquired and tweaked a copy of GTR (the FIA Sport scar racing simulator). Thanks to the folks at SimBin and countless hobbyists, our little competition will feature over 15 real world sports cars that actively compete in FIA or Le Mans endurance series. The goal is to set the fastest lap for that type of car at Le Mans, and of course to have some fun. This high fidelity simulator is sure to keep even the would-be Tom Kristensen's on their toes.

So if your in the neighborhood, and your interested in joining us for a long, long night of racing, food and fun drop me a line and find out how to get to the party. I guarantee the cops won't show up, and no one will get a speeding ticket (driving the sim at least). Also, be sure to check out the unofficial Club Arnage guide to Le Mans 2006 which has lots of information, pictures and profiles of all the teams.